Matthew Clarkin
| Birth name | Matthew Clarkin | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | July 4, 1981 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cirencester, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 105 kg (16.5 st) | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Matthew (Matt) Clarkin is an English born New Zealand rugby union player and son of Chele and the late Paul Clarkin who was known internationally as 'Mr Polo'. His elder brother is John-Paul Clarkin a professional polo player.
Clarkin has played most of his professional rugby career at the top level in France and is captain of the French Top 14 rugby team Union Bordeaux Bègles.
He has been described as being a player that is able to orchestrate play, as well as having a strong work ethic and hitting the ball up into the opposition allowing space for the back line.[2]
Career
In 2003 Matthew arrived in France to play with the now defunct CA Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde (CABBG) club.
In 2004 he moved to Montauban where he played from 2004–2010, captaining the side in the 2009-10 season. Montauban were liquidated at the end of the 2009-2010 season due to financial problems and Clarkin signed a 2 year deal with the Pro D2 team Union Bordeaux Belges (UBB) in April 2010.
Under Clarkin's captaincy, UBB finished 5th in the 2009-2010 season and went on to win the play-offs to gain promotion to the Top 14 for the 2010-2011 season.
References
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